Editorial: Fighting the ‘nor’east’ tide

Recent weeks have brought some interesting weather to our area, that included a drenching after months of drought and more recently, a bit of northeast wind and high water that reminded us that winter is coming...and will bring with it more northeasters.

Standing bravely alone against the rising tide of public usage, we declare that we will stand out, as long as possible, against everyday use of the grating word "nor’easter."

You don’t find the old-time newspapers reporting on such frivolous-sounding storms. The old Journals and Gazettes that paved our way spoke solemnly of "northeasters" and "northeast storms" and we are pleased to carry on in their footsteps.

"Nor’easter" sounds like one of those words the TV weather people use to get us excited about the coming storm, and to get us to…stay tuned.

We are pleased to learn that one gentleman from Down East, Edgar Comee of Brunswick, Maine, so deplored the rising nor’east tide that he had preprinted postcards ready to send out to offenders. Thus in 2005 The New Yorker received one such card and in a follow-up column immortalized Mr. Comee, now deceased. He has made it into the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, as part of its definition of nor’easter.

Though battered by the waves our little piece of shoreline, the Gazette-Journal, hopes to continue facing east in the teeth of this northeast gale of misusage, hoping for a clear dawn when people once again utter "northeaster" as a word and a type of storm they were brought up to respect.